Death is only the Beginning
by Terysa
Summary: What happens when Evy, Alex, and Jonathan are brutally murdered? Will Rick face his Medjai heritage. or will Imhotep murder him as well? Rated PG fr mild language. Chapter 3 will be up 1-24, chapters are renamed. Please review!
1. Rick's unexpected Arrival

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff, don't sue me, yada yada yada yada yada...  
  
  
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Ardeth leaned back in his horse's saddle. The sun was setting against the sands. He turned to his right as his second in command rode up beside him.   
  
"A man has made his way to our front line. He says that he is a traveller, travelling from the west, and that he seeks a lost treasure..."   
  
Ardeth brightened. So far his day had been gong pretty badly, with his horse rearing him off in front of all his men. Then there was the incident where he tried to draw his sword out, to teach the younger Medjai how to use it, and he had slipped and cut his hand. Also, there was that scene when he was talking in his foreign tounge, Arabic, and had accidently used the word "nude" instead of "used". That was also in front of all his people.  
  
"Um, sir? What should we do?" Ardeth snapped back to reality as his friend, Olsl, studdied his face. "Let him into the village." Olsl turned his horse, but then turned back and said, "Oh, he's wounded, as well."   
  
Ardeth turned immedietely. "What? How?" Olsl shrugged. "He said he would only tell you. But from what I see, he looks like he got a pretty bad beating from multiple people, his face is cut up pretty badly, and there's a trickle of blood running down the side of his horse from it's side, almost so it looks like the horse is hurt, but if you look closely, you can see that it's coming from the man."   
  
Ardeth digested this news. He only hoped that it wasn't the man he was thinking of. He had a way to get proof, though. "Did the man have a brown leather brace covering his wrist on his right hand?" Olsl nodded. Ardeth cursed in Arabic, then kneed his horse, heading toward his encampment, with OIsl on his heels. In took only a few minutes to get to the front line. Ardeth pulled his horse a little slower as he let Olsl lead. Olsl's horse ran down the line of ditches where several dozen Medjai warriors were stationed, in case an opposing group, such as the Huddags, tried to attack them.  
  
Ardeth felt himself riding his horse, but his mind was elsewhere. How could Rick O'Connell get to such a bad state? Where was Evelyn and Alex? Johnathan would even be welcome right then. Ardeth shook his head to clear his thoughts. They were slowling down now, and Ardeth could see a bunch of warriors surrounding a man on a horse. Ardeth jumped off his horse before he fully came to a stop.   
  
He pushed his way through the crowd and saw Rick in the saddle of his horse. He looked terrible, worse than Olsl described him. There were several more wounds than mentioned, and there was more than a trickle of blood running down his horse. It was like comparing a brook, from Olsl's description, to a whitewater rapid, in reality. Rick looked at him, and smiled slightly. He slid off his horse with difficulty and stumbeled over to Ardeth. When he was an arm's length, he stopped.  
  
He said in a hoarse voice, "The Creature lives again." Ardeth felt his breath catch in his throat. He asked, "What happened to you?" Rick answered slowly, "It was just me, an archaeologist, a kid, and a greedy guy, minding our own buisiness, when a sand vortex runs in through the window, and forms Imhotep. He takes my by the throat, and chokes me, then throws me off to the side. Then, he takes one of the knives off our wall, and slashes Evy through her heart. Then, he cuts Johnathan's throat. Then, he breaks Alex's back. Then, it's just him and me. We fight for a minute or two before he gets two knives and starts a vortex again, and I'm in the middle of it, and he beats me up, all the while using the knives to slash whatever he can. He stabs me in the side and thinks the fight is over. Then, I fall and he leaves, and I make my way here."  
  
There was silence from the surrounding warriors, who had been sniggering at him for his American heritage. Now, they were as silent as death. Ardeth asked, "How is he alive?"  
  
Rick coughed, then said, "As far as I can gather, a guy found the black book in our house in Cairo and raised him. Imhotep killed the guy and assimilated him, and then came after us. The only thing he said other than that, was 'Ank-su-namun'. "   
  
Ardeth looked away for a second, then turned back. He saw tear streaks on Rick's face, from where he had been crying. Rick coughed again, then said, "Oh, yeah, I managed to get this from our house in Cairo."   
  
He turned and walked drunkenly toward his horse. Once there, he reached into a large bag. He pulled out three things. He held them out toward Ardeth.  
  
"The Book of the Dead, the Book of the Living, and the Key that opens them both." Ardeth signaled to three of his men. They grabbed one of the items each. Ardeth spoke in Arabic. "Take them to the village and give them to the elders."   
  
He turned back toward Rick. Rick had fresh tears streaming down his face as he said, "They're gone, Ardeth. All of them are gone. Johnathan is dead. Alex is dead. Evy is dead...again. But this time I can't use the book to bring her back."  
  
Olsl asked, "Why not?" Rick looked at him and said, "There are only three people who can read the Ancient Egyptian language. Evy, Alex, and Imhotep."  
  
Suddenly, Rick fell foward and Ardeth caught him. Rick rested on hs knees and said, "They're gone. They're all gone." He raised his eyes to look straight at Ardeth.   
  
"And I'm gonna kill that son of a..." He passd out before he was able to complete his sentence. 


	2. The Lost Medjai

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff, don't sue me, yada yada yada yada yada…  
  
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Ardeth paced outside the tent nervously. If Rick's entire family was dead then that would mean that Rick had nowhere to go, which was why a Medjai medic was attending to him.  
  
Ardeth didn't like to admit it, but if Rick was to stay with them, then maybe he would accept his past, and become the Medjai Leader. Ardeth stopped that train of thought when Olsl walked up beside him.   
  
He spoke. "Sir, the Books and Key are secure. They won't be used again." Ardeth nodded, then continued pacing. Olsl hesitated, then asked, "Why are you so friendly toward this man?"   
  
Ardeth looked at him and sighed. "Yes, I suppose that you were getting pretty lousy information on the front line. His name is Rick O'Connell, and he is the Wahid."  
  
Olsl gasped. "You mean, he's the lost Medjai?!?!" Ardeth nodded. "When we first met, we were enemies, mostly because he helped to raise the Creature. During the second time, he and I were friends. As were his wife and family. But now," Ardeth looked at Olsl with sadness written all over his face. "Now, we are all he has left."  
  
Olsl looked thoughtful for a moment, then asked, "How did you know about the brace?" Ardeth answered while continuing to pace. "He has the Mark under it. He never likes to display it, so he wears a brace to cover it up. His story is that he got it in an orphanage in Cairo."  
  
Olsl was about to ask something else when the medic, Ligtor, left the tent. Ardeth asked, "Well?" Ligtor looked at his leader. "It's not good, sir. He's lost an immense amount of blood. And he's also got several broken ribs. Besides that, he's got bruises the size of the desert all over his upper body. I've done all I can for him, but now his fate is in his hands. Based upon what you've told me, if he loved his family as much as you say he did, then he might just decide to keel over and die to join them." Ligtor shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry."   
  
Then, he picked up his bag and hobbled away. Ardeth sighed, and looked at his friend. "Olsl, wait here for a moment. I'll be back shortly."   
  
Then, he disapeered into the tent. He looked toward the bed in the center of the tent. There was a blanket acting as a pillow, and bandages covered most of Rick's upper body. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was shallow.   
  
Ardeth sat down in the chair next to him. He sighed and said, "O'Connell, you've got alot of guts." To his surprise, Rick answered, "Please, don't call me O'Connell. I'm not him anymore." Rick's eyes opened. He spoke in a low voice. "Ardeth, have you ever remembered any of your past lives?" Ardeth shook his head.   
  
Rick paused for a moment, then said, "I have. When I was hanging on to the edge of the Pit of Hell, I saw one. You were right. I saw me and Evel- I mean Princess Nerfertiti. I was in all this Medjai stuff. Knives, swords, tattoos, you name it. I was watching her on a balcony. I didn't like her being out there because of the attacks that had been going on, but she insisted. Suddenly, I heard something, like a pinging noise, then I felt an arrow shoot through my neck. The next and last thing I saw was the Princess turn toward me with a dagger through her heart. The last thing I heard while I was falling was the Princess saying 'Death is only the beggining.' We died together. You were right, Ardeth. I'm a Medjai, sworn to protect her. But I failed, and that's why I'm here again. Now that I've failed again, maybe I should kill myself so I can try again in another time."  
  
Ardeth said quickly, "No! You can't die!" Rick looked at him, and asked, "Why not? She saved me from dying, when I was about to be hanged, and who knows how many times she's saved me. I can't even keep her safe for one lifetime." Ardeth said, "Let me tell you something, Rick O'Connell. When you brought the Creature back to life for the first time I was tempted to kill myself, but I didn't. When he came to life the second time, I almost plunged my own sword into my heart. But my father told me that if I died, then what chance would I have to protect the resting place?"   
  
Rick coughed, then said, "Yeah, well he's the undead. Evy's dead for good, and I don't think another Princess is going to entrust herself in my care."  
  
Ardeth looked at him with worry. Tears were once again flowing down his cheeks. Rick closed his eyes and asked, "Ardeth, have you ever had a wife?"  
  
Ardeth sighed. "Yes. One, during the first attack. She was killed. I don't know how, but when I got back to the village, she was dead. Why?"  
  
Rick suddenly whipped his hand into Ardeth's robes and grabbed his sword. Ardeth stumbled out of the chair and looked at Rick incredously.   
  
Rick's eyes blazed. He wasn't himself, that was clear. He held the sword up to his own throat and said, "Then you know what it felt like. So, what would you do if you had nothing left to live for?"  
  
  
  
Please R/R! This is my 1st fic, so be nice. Oh, I need opinions. Who wants the others to come back alive? Please say in review!!! 


	3. A new face

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this stuff; don't sue me, yada, yada, yada, yada, and yada...  
  
  
  
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Olsl waited patiently. He had watched Ardeth enter the tent about five minutes ago, and that was worrying him. Ardeth would never have taken that long just to check up on someone.  
  
Suddenly, a man walked up beside him and whispered something in his ear. Olsl's eyes widened. He straightened and nodded to the man. Then, without a thought, entered the tent.  
  
He saw a very unexpected sight. The Wahid was holding Ardeth's sword to his own throat, and Ardeth looked pale. Both looked at him.  
  
Rick said in a maddening calm voice, "Is there something you need? I was just about to commit suicide in front of my best friend. Not something you should interrupt."  
  
Olsl looked at Ardeth before saying, "There is someone at the front line. They want to talk to you. Their origin; Huddag."  
  
Ardeth looked anxious. "Did they attack?" Olsl shook his head. "No, they just want to talk to you. What for they won't say."  
  
Ardeth asked, "Well, did they drop their weapons?" Olsl looked slightly amused. "More than that, sir. They've surrendered to us."  
  
"How many?" Olsl answered his leader's question. "There are five in all. However, they are all staying close to the one in the middle of their formation. They grow extremely defensive if we try to some near him."  
  
Ardeth looked thoughtful. "Typical Huddag style. I suppose I should go talk to them." Olsl hesitated. Ardeth looked at him and said, "Something to add?"  
  
Olsl said, "Yes. Why are you trusting them?" Ardeth sighed and said, "More to the point, why are they trusting us? We're their sworn enemy." Olsl said, "As they are to us."  
  
Rick said, "He's got a point, though. Why are they trusting you?" Ardeth thought this was going to be his best chance. "Actually, why are they trusting…us?"  
  
Rick didn't catch the meaning at first, but then he looked stunned, then irritated, then unbelieving.  
  
"Aw, come on! After all I've done to you, you'd actually let me become one of you? Jeez! I think that you're taking a big risk, trying to add me to your group!"  
  
Ardeth sighed. He didn't like it, but he had to get it out of the way. He was thinking of a way to convince Rick to join them when Olsl spoke up.  
  
"I wasn't a Medjai all my life. Until I was twelve, I roamed the streets of Cairo. Then Ardeth found me. He was already in the Medjai camp, but had spotted me wandering around and decided to take me back here.  
  
"I didn't want to accept it at first, but the tattoos I already had on my face and hands were telltale signs that I was one of them, and so I joined. I was in a lot of trouble before I joined. If I hadn't joined, one of three things would happen.  
  
"One, I'd get killed somehow in Cairo. Two, they'd have to kill me because I knew the location of their camp. Three, I would have killed myself…"  
  
Rick seemed to consider this. He turned to look at Olsl when he shifted one of his ribs. He winced and fell back in bed, coughing. Ardeth's sword clanged to the ground.  
  
He coughed again, then said, "All right, all right. You win. I'll…I'll join you guys."  
  
Ardeth gave Olsl a deserved and appreciative look, then picked up his sword. He said to Rick, "Stay here. At any sign of trouble, you'd better get to one of the horses outside. Make your way as quick as you can to Hamunaptra. If anything does go wrong, meet me there."  
  
Rick painfully nodded before looking down at his leather brace. He sighed as he undid the bands, saying, "I guess I won't need this anymore."  
  
Olsl studied the mark with growing wonder. Yes, it was indeed the mark of the lost Medjai. It was definitely going to be a good year for the tribe. 


End file.
